Toranu Tanuki no Kawazanyo (捕らぬ狸の皮算用 - Don't Count Your Chickens before They are Hatched)

Toranu Tanuki no Kawazanyo

I often do an act called "toranu tanuki no kawazanyo" (捕らぬ狸の皮算用).

'Toranu' (捕らぬ) means "not capture," 'tanuki' (狸) means "raccoon dog," 'kawa' (皮) means "skin," and 'zanyo/sanyo' (算用) means "to calculate an amount of money or something."

That is to say, the literal meaning of this phrase is that you calculate an amount of selling raccoon leather before you capture the raccoon dog.

In actuality, this phrase has the wider meaning that before you get something, you plan in line with it.

取らぬ狸の皮算用

私はよく「捕らぬ狸の皮算用」をします。

「捕らぬ」は "not capture," 「狸」は "raccoon dog," 「皮」は "skin," 「算用」は "to calculate an amount of money or something" を意味します。

すなわちこの言葉の文字通りの意味は、まだ狸を捕らえていないうちから、狸の皮を売る計算をすることです。

実際には、もう少し広い意味で、「何かを手に入れないうちから、それをあてにして計画を立てること」を表します。